LUCKNOW: Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav may not contest the Assembly elections due early next year. Speaking to the media in Varanasi on Tuesday, Akhilesh suggested that he could take oath as chief minister while serving as a Lok Sabha member, repeating the precedent he set in 2012.
Akhilesh linked his possible decision to political auspiciousness while explaining his strategy. “You tell us the seat, I will contest in Varanasi... I always thought Kashi people were religious and know the difference between ‘shubh’ (auspicious) and ‘ashubh’ (inauspicious),” he said.
“I became CM when I did not contest an Assembly election; that is why I will do whatever is ‘shubh’ for me. So, I will take the CM’s oath directly from the Lok Sabha,” Yadav added.
The SP chief's remarks came against the backdrop of his current position as Lok Sabha MP from Kannauj. In the 2012 Assembly elections, Yadav did not contest from any seat. He was then a sitting Lok Sabha MP from Kannauj. After the SP won 224 seats, he was chosen as chief minister and sworn in on March 15, 2012, at the age of 38. He later became an MLC.
In 2017, he again did not contest the Assembly elections while leading the SP-Congress alliance's campaign, which ended in defeat.
In 2022, he contested and won the Karhal seat in Mainpuri by a margin of more than 67,000 votes, resigning from his Azamgarh Lok Sabha seat to become Leader of the Opposition. He returned to the Lok Sabha from Kannauj in 2024.
Political experts believe Akhilesh's statement about not contesting the elections could be a well-considered move. He is projecting himself as the party's chief ministerial face while retaining the flexibility to manage party affairs without being tied to any single constituency.
At the same time, he is attempting to keep the BJP under psychological pressure, the experts feel.
However, the strategy is not new to Uttar Pradesh.
Notably, Mulayam Singh Yadav became chief minister in his first two terms, from December 1989 to January 1991 and from December 1993 to June 1995, after winning Assembly elections.
In 2003, when he became chief minister for the third time, the circumstances were entirely different. The BSP-BJP coalition government had collapsed, and Mulayam Singh formed the government through alliances and the support of independent legislators. At the time, he was a Lok Sabha MP from Sambhal. He took oath as chief minister on August 29, 2003, and contested a by-election from the Gunnaur Assembly seat in January 2004, winning by a record margin of 1.83 lakh votes.
Similarly, following the infamous 'Guest House incident' in 1995, Mayawati became chief minister for the first time with the support of the BJP.
When she took oath on June 3, 1995, she was a Rajya Sabha MP. She remained chief minister without becoming an MLA, as the government collapsed within four months. Thereafter, during her second term (March 1997 to September 1997) and third term (May 2002 to August 2003), she assumed office after winning Assembly elections. However, both governments collapsed before completing their terms.
In 2007, the BSP secured a full majority in Uttar Pradesh. Mayawati, however, had not contested the Assembly elections and campaigned across the state solely as the party's star campaigner.
When she took oath as chief minister on May 13, 2007, she was a Rajya Sabha MP. After becoming chief minister, she resigned from the Rajya Sabha and became an MLC.